Lightwoods to be a national teaching school

Lightwoods Primary School in Castle Road East, Oldbury, is one of only about 100 schools in England to be granted the coveted honour.

It has been made by the National College for School Leadership and it now entitles the school to lead the training and professional development for staff.

Staff will now be invited to the National College's Learning and Conference Centre in Nottingham later this month for a formal induction.

The teaching schools initiative began last autumn, marking a shift towards school-centred training and development.

The programme gives outstanding schools the freedom and autonomy to lead a group of schools, working with other partners including at least one university, to deliver high quality support for teachers and leaders at all stages in their career.

Elaine Bowen, headteacher at Lightwoods, said: "We are extremely pleased to gain this status which recognises our work and gives us further opportunities to share our practice with others."

The National College has responsibility for the designation and quality of the teaching schools programme, working closely with the Department for Education, as the national network grows to 500 teaching schools by 2014.

Steve Munby, chief executive of the National College, said: "Teaching schools like Lightwoods Primary need to be at the top of their game to take on this role -  outstanding in their own performance and have a track record of raising standards through school-to-school support.

"We now have over 200 teaching schools around the country who are in a position to harness the finest teaching talent in the profession to drive school improvement in innovative ways, and bring real benefits to pupils and staff.

"Trainees can learn from the best teachers in action and those who want to move up the career ladder are exposed to excellent practice within and beyond their immediate school."

As they develop, teaching schools working with other schools and universities, will help to provide a strong supply of new teachers, develop leaders and the next generation of heads, and support schools in challenging circumstances.